The Rolling Stones Announce 2013 North American Tour with ‘Special Guest’ Mick Taylor

The Rolling Stones have announced the first dates of their 2013 '50 and Counting' North American tour, which will visit nine cities in May and June. Former guitarist Mick Taylor will be a "special guest throughout the tour," to use the band's own words.

The trek will hit arenas in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Jose, Las Vegas, Anaheim, Toronto, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. According to Billboard, the band has given their promoter 18 dates to work with, making it likely that additional dates will be added in some or all of these cities.

Frontman Mick Jagger issued a statement that gives fans an idea of what to expect from the group's stage show. “'50 and Counting’ has been pretty amazing so far. We did a few shows in London and New York last year…and had such a good time that we thought…let’s do some more. It’s a good show. Lots of the classic stuff everyone wants to hear…with a few little gems tucked in here and there. The stage is shaped like lips and goes off into the venue so I get to run around in the crowd. It’s great fun to be able to get that close to the audience.”

We can't tell you the opening date of the tour, exactly, because it depends on when the Staples Center won't be occupied by an NHL playoff game. Tickets for Oakland, San Jose, Toronto and Chicago go on sale beginning Monday, April 8 at 10AM local time and will be available at www.rollingstones.com.

The Stones also announced that they will perform at London's Hyde Park on Saturday, July 6. Last week they announced they would headline the June Glastonbury festival.

UPDATE: The Stones have announced four more shows, including a second at Hyde Park on an as-yet undetermined date. The schedule below has been changed to reflect the current tour itinerary.